We have to be going all the way this year.  Dan Plesac and John Hart picked the A's to finish in last place.  Even though Baseball Prospectus picked the A's to finish in a tie for 1st place (albeit at 2 games over .500).

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Do the A's have anyone on their 25-man roster who will hit at .300 or better?  Do the A's have anyone on their 25-man roster who will hit 25 or more home runs?  Do the A's have any pitcher on their roster that will win more than 15 games?  Is not every team in the AL West not better than our poor, pathetic A's?  Unfortunately, I say "no" to all of those, except the last one.  I see dead Athletics.  We have a team destined for failure.  I will take my 4-year old and 1-year old out to see them this year, but only to teach them what not to be.

I know this won't be popular here on AN.  But, that is the least of my worries, obviously.

Anyway, I'm for keeping Bobby Crosby as our shortstop.  "Why?," you may ask?  Because I think he has the most upside and the least downside of all shortstops who are available.

Furcal is a Kotsay-waiting-to-happen.  Sign him to a 4 -year deal and live to regret the last three years.

Sign Edgar Renteria...  bad idea from the start, but let's just say you're a fan...  his 2008 OPS was .699.  Crosby's was .645.  Crosby is younger and, perhaps, better.  If you want Renteria, why didn't we just keep Marco...  he had an OPS of .697 last year.

Miguel Tejada you say?  Ummm...  maybe, if the price is cheap enough.  But, he was #13 versus Crosby's #18 in OPS in 2008, so he better come cheap.

Let's face it, if you can't get Escobar, it's almost not worth the price.  Besides, none of those other guys have the potential of power, save Tejada, and Crosby does...

I'd keep Crosby.

There is a slight disagreement among us.  I think there is zero chance that Beane signs Holliday to an extension.  Grover (and, I use the capital "g" only becasue it begins a sentence) believes there is a 100% chance Beane will sign him to an extension.

Grover is a smart guy...  I think he's right about most things he posts on AN.  (Example:  The Case for Trading Kotsay)  But, he's just stubborn about this.

So, who is right?  Is grover right when he says there is a 100% chance the A's sign Holliday to an extension?  Or, am I right when I say there is zero chance?

Your votes will be tallied.

so, I'm here to lend some support.

I was a fan at nearly 5 years old when the Raiders were born.  They are pretty much close to my first conscious memory.  I have a 3 year old son, right now...  and, I know that he won't remember a damn thing about sporting events he attends at this stage of his life.  Nevertheless, he's been to A's games every year since before he was born.  He has yet to experience his first Raider game (live), but that's only because I want him to remember his first Raider experience, like I did.  I may have to take him and his (as yet unborn) younger brother down to Los Angeles to see them, but what the hell...

Oh wait... this was supposed to be a positive mojo thread.  Well, here is the ultimate mojo:  The Autumn Wind.  Watch out, Bills...  the Autumn Wind is coming for you.

F**k the Whiners!

Who among us is a second son?  How do father's feel about them?  I have no idea...  I'm a first-born.  Will I treat him differently than I do Galt?  Will Galt grow up jealous and resentful of his little brorther?  It won't really matter to me cuz I'll be dead by the time they both hit puberty, so all their teenage angst will be mommy's problem, but... 

Let's get to the point...  what should I name the second son?  Because, she told me I could name the boys and she could name the girls.

Well, at least, that's the way I remember it...  but, I was probably drunk...  So, to be fair to her, she says she only gave me the "first boy" naming rights.   Now that she knows the 2nd one's a boy, she's, apparently, feeling a bit of buyer's remorse.  God (or whomever) love her, but, in my eyes, she's now reneging on my "boy naming" rights.

Nevertheless, me, being the fair and just person that I am...  I thought I'd put it to you AN, once again...  what should be the baby's name?  And, by "putting it to AN," I mean giving you, the folks of AN, the same amount of influence I gave you in the naming of my first child:  Name The Baby (2005).

He will be born on October 16, 2008, if that matters to you.

Okay, this is a truncated version of what I intended to post.  AN 3.0 ate my original post.   So, it's not as stat-laden as originally intended.  I was going to post the individual stats of A's players in July (especially, the hitters).  Sorry to the stat-inclined, they would have been amused, but I'm too lazy to dig them out ,again.  Anyway, here goes...  Pourin' half a forty on the ground for my ol' homey, Oaktoon...

We've all heard of the June Swoon...  I think another Bay Area team made that phrase famous.  But, we got past June in pretty good shape.  July has been a bitch, though.  As most of you suspected, without even knowing for sure...   the A's are last in runs scored for July with 63.  Is July an indicator of crappy teams?   You be the judge:

25.  Tampa Bay  69

26.  Houston  68

27.  San Diego 68

28.  San Franciso  68

29.  Seattle  64

30.  Oakland  63

Now, the Rays are pretty bad in July, too...  But, they're still 1 whole game in front in the East.   Will they stay there?   Prolly not, despite my pre-season projection that they'd win the East, they probably won't...  The fuckin' Yanks probably will.  Nevertheless, I'm stickin' with that prediction on the off chance the Rays are as good as I thought they'd be.

Damn, 63 runs...  numero 30...  we suck!  Okay, it's late, I'm gonna have to edit this when I wake up to include all the lousy July individual stats, but...  I'll just hit post instead of draft for now.

No, seriously...  I do.  They are crap!  Always losing the close games.  Run differential should put us in 1st place.  Pythagoras lies.  Let's face it, we need more hitters.  Do we have any on the horizon in the next 3 years?

Who is batting cleanup today, Bob?  Emil Brown?  Well, no...  hopefully, after this year, it'll be Jack Cust for us.  But, maybe that's only if Billy doesn't decide to re-sign the RBI Machine to a long term extension after he leads us in RBI this year.

I taught my kid to love the A's....  he's 2 1/2 years old.  "Let's go to a ballgame, daddy!"  I don't take him to watch them anymore.  It's too depressing.  (And, I don't want him to watch batters strike out looking...  I actually want him to swing when he gets to T-Ball.)

I was kinda excited when Brooks Conrad got the callup...  what's he now?  0 for everything?  What a fool was I?  I'm still rootin' for ya, Brooks.  But, seriously, would Brooks or  Wes or Jack or Huston be on any other major league roster?

Nevertheless, I want to see all all the vets gone...  every last one.

Huston Street as a closer, for christ sake!  The guy can barely throw a fastball over 82 MPH.  He should be the first to go...  Ellis next.  And, finally, when some team is totally desperate...  Duke, because we'll get the most for him at the very last minute.  Put us out of our misery by July 31st.

I know this isn't worthy of a fAnPoSt...  but, I no longer care.

I use "we" and 'us" quite liberally throughout this fAnPoSt...  did you notice that?

Edit:  Get some hitters, Billy, or see attendance down around the 7,000 per game level.

I know Blez isn't.  He predicts the Angels will win the West.  He doesn't think the A's will sniff an AL West title this year.  That's okay... none of the pundits did, either.

I suspect Nico isn't...  I haven't seen him commit, but I've seen enough to know he leans toward the Angels, as well.

Monkeyball...  I'm not sure.  I couldn't access the Official Prediction Thread.  But, as I recall, he didn't post there.  So, in my hypothetical world, he picked the Angels, too.

So, now that the A's are in 1st place.... where are you AN?  Yes, Harden's on the DL...  yes, Duke is on the DL.  Nevertheless, we dominate the AL in pitching stats.  Not so much in hitting stats (yet).

So, anyone want to change their minds?  You only get credit if you post, PaulThomas.  Where'd you have the A's finishing in the AL West?  Last?  3rd?  Or, no where near the top?

Here's the depressing part:

 Mark Kotsay is pretty good this year.  Okay, he's no Ryan Sweeney, but he's pretty good.

Jason Kendall is really good this year.

Aaron Harang is excellent this year.

Eric Byrnes is a star on a team of young, bright supernovas!

And, Marco Scutaro almost beat us today.  I wouldn't have liked that, even though I like Marco.

Remember any of these guys from A's 1998 (since I am unable to edit the title)?

Or should we just ignore Spring Training stats?  Or should we just ignore OBP stats?

Because, if we believe them, the Oakland A's and the Tampa Bay Rays will be the best teams in baseball this year.  Well, only if you believe OBP is the "end-all-and be-all" stat...  OBP Leaders.  I'm actually okay with that, but do I believe it?  No, because the A's won't pick the best guys to play.  I'm pretty confident in that.  However, the Rays might, so they could surprise a lot of people.  Don't get me wrong, I think both of those teams will be good teams, but maybe not great teams.  Does OBP lie?

I want the stat nerds of AN to tell me why, in the face of all the evidence to the contrary in Spring Training, that the A's and Rays won't compete for the whole enchilada down the stretch.  They lead in OBP.

Does Spring Training predict nothing?  Or, is there some pitching element in the equation I'm not accounting for?

I lost my draft diary (fanpost) with the new AN format.  That was my fault.  I drafted it soon after I threw out the first pitch at the end of last season.  And, obviously, I waited way too long to publish it.  Politics and baseball are my favorite pastimes and politics won out this offseason.  After learning that my edited draft wouldn't accept comments and, at the request of other members, I am re-posting this as a new FanPost.  Apologies to those who previously voted in the poll.

 Anyway, to make a long story short, Justine, Galt and I arrived at the park early that day in late September 2007.  We had been given the tickets by fellow season ticket holders who sit right behind our seats.  Shortly after we arrived, two young men wandered down the aisle.  They turned toward us and asked if we were season ticket holders?  We hesitated briefly, then, answered "yes," adding that we weren't sitting in our seats this day as they were the ones directly in front of us.

 The two young men walked a few steps down the aisle, huddled for a moment and conversed over their two-way radio with some unseen A's officialdom.  As they walked back up the stairs, they said:  "Would you like to throw out the first pitch?"  Surprise, suspicion, shock, followed by fear, all crossed my mind in an instant.  But, they looked official, so I responded succinctly:  "Ummm...  sure."  "Okay," one of them said, "we'll come and get you about 45 minutes before gametime and bring you back to the offices and, then, down to the field."

Continue reading this post »

I think everyone on AN, including myself, owes Mychael Urban an apology.  At least, for his Milton Bradley "tired act" article.  I liked Bradley.  I think most ANer's did.  But, Urban told it like it was and was raked over the coals here at Athletics Nation.

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The gritty team leaders?  Okay, maybe...  we can do without the grit.  We're not the Angels.  Even Geren knows they suck.  I'm sure he thought twice before putting them ahead of Gaudin in the batting order tonight.

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The rosters are set.  Opening Day is tomorrow.  Every team has a chance to win it all, right?  Well, maybe not the Royals, Pirates, Devil Rays or Giants, but almost every other team has hope.  But, according to the collective wisdom of baseball pundits and prognosticators, our Oakland A's aren't going to be going to the playoffs this year.  I would say the consensus is that our beloved A's will finish 2nd behind the Angels (and, probably, many on AN would agree with this; although I am, obviously, not among them).

Just for fun, here is a sample of various "expert" predictions for the 2007 baseball season:

CBS Sportsline.com

Ken Rosenthal (Fox Sports)

Sports Illustrated

ESPN Experts Picks

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Who is the A's #2 Starter...  Joe Blanton or Danny Haren?  My Poll didn't get posted in my original diary and, although, I counted a lot of OG ANers voting against me (by their comments), I didn't really get an accurate count.  So, I'm posting the poll again (if it works, this time).

Continue reading this post »

Who is our #3 starter?  Blanton or Loaiza?  That's how most AN'ers would ask the quesion...  wouldn't they?  Assuming arguendo, that Danny Haren is our #2, they go on to debate, in the earlier offseason, what we could have gotten for Joe Blanton in a trade.

Continue reading this post »

Exactly one-half that as when I posted Screw the Woofing Gods!

And, nothing bad has happened yet.  Except that our starting pitching has gone to hell.  And, Macha has decided that Sauerbeck and Witasick are good relief pitching solutions in a critical, "must win" game.

Never mind that...  we're still 5 1/2 games up.  Wouldn't you rather be us than poor, pathetic Halo fans like the Rev, and yeswecan, and mattwelch... hoping for an A's September fade?

I would!

Only 4 more days until Halo fans concede.  I love September baseball!

Okay...  the Angels and Red Sox are toast.  They're done, stick a fork in 'em.  The only drama in the AL is in the Central.  And, really, who would've thought this a month ago?  Everybody knew the Tigers would win it and the White Sox would come in 2nd.  Not so fast, though, say our horror-dome nemesis, the Twinkies!  Did any ANer's see this coming?  I mean the Twins in contention, post-May 30th?  Sure, a few of you predicted a Division Win, at the outset, but...  link your post-May 30th comments or predictions, and you'll gain some credibility.

Anyway, A-Rod was right, Jeter was wrong.  The Wild Card is coming from the Central.  (Sorry, iceplant, but you were wrong, too.)  Only question is, will it be the Twins or the Pale Hose... or the Tigers?  My money is on the Twinks, but I'm hedging it.

So, does anybody see a scenario whereby our A's play the Yanks in the ALDS?  I'm hard pressed to come up with a realistic one.  I would've liked for the 2006 A's to be the ones to eliminate them from the playoffs, but with a division winner and wild card coming from the AL Central, I don't see that as likely.  We won't have the pleasure of eliminating them in the ALCS because they won't get past whichever team from the Central they face.

My most likely scenario... the A's vs. An AL Central Team in the ALCS.  I'd love to have our A's kick Ozzie's ass, but I don't think they're gonna make it.  I kinda like the Tigers, so I hope they don't make it.  I think it's us and the Twins in the ALCS.  How about you?

I'm an atheist, anyway.  Buy your playoff tickets A's fans because they're gonna win the West going away.  And, it's going to be so much fun watching as Halos Heaven loses what little of its collective mind it ever had.

What Angel fans and most baseball pundits fail to recognize is that, with health, the A's offense has improved dramatically since the All-Star break.  (The A's post-ASB run differential is 46 compared to the Angels' 34.)  And, to paraphrase a political pundit, "It's the pitching, stupid!"  Is it any coincidence that the A's increase in division lead coincides with them out-pitching the Angels since the All-Star break?  I think not.  So, Wear It, all of you bandwagon Angel fans and good luck in 2007.  You'll need it.

• A's Magic Number:  28 - lowest in the American League.
  
• A's post-ASB record:  29-12 (.707 Win%) - best in MLB.  The Halos will never catch us with their paltry .619 Win% over the same time frame.
  
• A's August record:  18-5 (.783 Win%) - you guessed it, best in MLB.  And, worse news for arrogant Angel fans, the gap in winning percentage is accelerating in August, as they've managed only a .600 Win%, going only 15-10 in August.
  
• A's post-ASB ERA:  3.89 (2nd in MLB) vs. Anaheim's 4.29 (9th in MLB)
  
• A's August ERA:  3.59 (3rd in MLB) vs. Anaheim's 4.36 (20th in MLB) - sense a trend here?
  
• Historical Perspective: &nbspA's franchise World Championships: 9 (2nd in MLB history); Angels' franchise World Championships: 1 (behind the Florida Marlins). The A's, one of the most storied franchises in baseball history, are not going to let an upstart expansion team like the Orange County Angels win the West in 2006.

The only fading to be done is being handled nicely by the Red Sox, Yankees, Tigers and White Sox, thank you, putting our A's in a position, not only to win the AL West, but capture home field advantage throughout the playoffs.  I don't really want to see the Twinkies in the post-season, as they are clearly the most dangerous team in the game besides the Green & Gold, but it may very well come down to an A's-Twins ALCS.

Just think, if Rich Harden comes back to pitch at full strength in September, the World Series will be ours for the taking, if it isn't already.

Sidenote:  I just have to laugh at the crackhead who does ESPN's Power Rankings... Crackhead Power Rankings.  The Mets at #1?  Please, there are probably 8 teams in the AL that would sweep them in the World Series.  Hell, even the Angels might have a chance of taking them in 7 games.

Growing weary of all the stat diaries?  Has AN regressed enough to the mean for you?  Well, let's have a little fun (if we're not having enough watching the boys pull away in the AL West).

I thought I'd gauge AN's temperature for its current favorite A's position player.  Forget the stats (if you can), forget past performance (if you can), forget who has the hottest wife or girlfriend (this might be a tough one), and vote for your current favorite A's position player.

Okay, I pondered long and hard about how to list them, since the roster exceeds my poll listing choices.  Being the unbiased person that I am, I thought immediately of alphabetical listings...  nah, didn't render the result I wanted.  Hmmmmmm... number of AB's?  Nah, didn't render the result I wanted.  Okay, how about OPS for players with 200+ plate appearances?  Yes, now, my totally unbaised survey is getting more and more statistically sound!!!  ;-)

Unfortunately, that leaves off Crosby, Melhuse and Ellis.  Sorry, BobbyCrosbysGirl, but, heck, he's on the DL and... let's be honest, he hasn't been hitting very well, and he's not likely to draw more than a smattering of votes, anyway.  And, poor Adam Melhuse... I think I saw him pinch hit once, recently, but that might have been a mirage.  That leaves us with MaEl...  now, I could see a few ANers voting for him; after all, he does lead MLB in home runs (for players from South Dakota... or is it North?)  Anyway... don't hesitate to write in Mark or Adam or Bobby... all votes will be counted.

Now, if you don't feel like participating in the poll or if you just wish to let your preferences be known, please feel free to list your favorites in your comments.  Without any intent of influencing the voting (as if I'm influential), mine are:

1.  Milton Bradley (the fire this A's team needs...  tired act, Mychael?  Hardly!)
   
2.  Nick Swisher (a close second to Milton... lacks the fire, but 10 times the fun)
   
3.  Marco Scutaro (where would this infield have been without this guy over the past three years...  most underappreciated player on the A's roster)
   
4.  Frank Thomas (finally, the right-handed power bat this lineup needed and I love his attitude)
   
5.  Dan Johnson (not a BB favorite, for whatever reason... get him back up onto the 25-man roster now! Already made one (small) mistake trading away Ethier... don't make another one letting this guy go, BB!)
   
6.  Jay Payton (malcontent?  Maybe... but, maybe he's just better than everybody who Beane had insisted on playing in front of him)
   
7.  Eric Chavez (I like Eric, I really do... but, he's a grinder, with no personality.  Sense a trend?)
   
8.  Bobby Kielty (I like Ronnie Mac, too... he's got personality, but he shouldn't be in LF over Eric Byrnes... please!)
   
9.  Jason Kendall (okay, I'm finding more and more that I respect Jason... loved the play at home tonight and how he handles the pitchers, but at $11 million per season? C'mon.)
   
10.  Mark Kotsay (epitomizes the grinder mentality to me... he is what has been wrong with this team for awhile, now.  Don't wish ill on anybody, but I'm glad he's on the bench... winning with fun, now that's A's baseball!)

"Summer has come and passed
The innocent can never last
wake me up when september ends...

"...like my fathers come to pass
seven years has gone so fast
wake me up when september ends"

I heard this sentiment from a friend of mine today.  Or, at least, something like what I interpreted for that sentiment.  Which was, you ask?  Well, it went something like this (after today's win):

Me:   "How 'bout them A's... Blanton got his first complete game shutout, Kendall HIT A FREAKIN' HOME RUN and, we beat those powerful Royals and sent them home with their tails between their legs!!!"
Him:  "God, I used to be passionate about the A's.  Now, I could care less.  I'm totally disinterested.  I don't know what happened."
Me (silently, to myself):  "Yeah."

Now, I know we'd never hear that kind of defeatist crap on AN, but, come to think of it... I've heard it a lot more this year from non-AN A's fans.  Why is that?  It doesn't bode well for attendance during 2006, if you ask me.

I have a theory...  hear me out.  We've all seen it before.  Our pitching will get good in June.  Our semi-talented offense, with a couple of 30 HR, 100 RBI guys, will heat up with the weather.  Boring guys, like Kotsay, will do their normal, consistent .746 OPS performance throughout the season.  Yawn... are you getting sleepy, yet?  Most exciting moment on AN, to date?  Kendall hits his first homerun in 961 AB's.  Yippee!!!  We've seen it all before.

Now, deep down... even though they never made it past the 1st round of the playoffs...  don't you long for the days of guys like Giambi (steroids and all), Tejada (passion personified), Huddy (all grit and no run support) and Byrnes (web gem a night, in spite of the occasional bad jump).  Why do we yearn?  Because, even though we've seen it all before... those teams were exciting!  This team is boring!  Now, anything's possible, even when you lose 2 out of 3 to the mighty Royals.  So, true AN types will never give up hope.

Okay... I admit, I drank too much of the Kool-Aid in the pre-season.  I expected a rip-roarin' offense and a great starting rotation and a great pen.  Maybe we'll see it (if they quit getting hurt).  But, wake me up when September ends.  I'm kinda starting to think like my friends.

What will the A's batting order look like the day after tomorrow?  Here's my prediction:

2B Ellis
CF Kotsay
3B Chavez
DH Thomas
LF Bradley
SS Crosby
1B Johnson
RF Swisher
C  Kendall

I have reconsidered my initial opinion that Bradley would be better in the 2-spot than Kotsay.  Bradley's got more pop, so he'd be better in the #5 spot.  Crosby may eventually earn that spot with his power, but that screws up the righty-lefty thing.

about the 2006 A's...  and, so am I.  I think the A's will win the division.  I think we may even make it past the first round in the playoffs. That's not good enough for me, though... I've seen 'em win the World Series 4 times (shoulda won it 6 times, but... oh well, I sound like a spoiled Yankee fan now).  Nevertheless, after watching the excrutiating exit in the first round in 4 of the last 6 years, I'm sure, making it to the ALCS would be good enough for many young A's fans.  Not for me.  I don't want any weak links on this team.  But, I think we have some.

Who is the weak link on this team?  Personally, I think it's in the bullpen.  Witasick gets my #1 vote... Kennedy my #2.  Kennedy will probably lose more games for us this year, but that's only because he'll see more innings.  I figure Witasick as our '06 Yabu, after Macha realizes (too late) that he can't get anybody out.

Hopefully, Jairo is ready.

So, who do you think is the weak link?  I left out Zito and Harden and Haren and Blanton, because nobody here would vote for them.  But, feel free to write them in, if you have a good reason.

I've included Frank Thomas... that's how sure I am that he will be our DH.

Okay, okay...  I know, it's way too soon to do this, especially since we don't have Thomas or Huff yet, but I can't wait for Spring Training, so let's prematurely evaluate!

Who will win?

AL West
Oakland Athletics
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Texas Rangers
Seattle Mariners

AL Central
Cleveland Indians
Chicago White Sox
Minnesota Twins
Detroit Tigers
Kansas City Royals

AL East
Toronto Blue Jays
New York Yankees
Baltimore Orioles
Tampa Bay Devil Rays
Boston Red Sox

NL West
Los Angeles Dodgers
San Diego Padres
San Francisco Giants
Arizona Diamondbacks
Colorado Rockies

NL Central
Milwaukee Brewers
St. Louis Cardinals
Chicago Cubs
Houston Astros
Cincinnati Reds
Pittsburgh Pirates

NL East
New York Mets
Florida Marlins
Atlanta Braves
Philadelphia Phillies
Washington Nationals

Those are my predictions (as of today).  Let's see your Premature Evaluation.

Of course, I know nothing about the National League and I am the guy who picked the White Sox to finish last in their division in 2005, but I just know I'm gonna do better this year.

Sidenote:  I just discovered an interesting site for those looking for just the right word:  Unscramble.

Keep it up, ANers!

In a surprise development, Athletics Nation is staging a stunning comeback in the Weblog Awards.  Blue-Gray Sky is still leading, but not for long.  The "mid-market baseball blog" will pull out the victory!

Keep voting as often as you can from as many computers as you have available.  Voting ends on December 15th, so vote, vote, vote!!!

Vote Here.

So, I'll post the official AN birth announcement (some of you already saw the unofficial announcement in a previous thread):

New A's fan... Galt Wallace Gordon, born December 1, 2005 (he's a Sagittarius, just like his Dad):

Season Ticket:

Going Home from the Hospital:

Mom & Baby Galt:

Friend & Baby Galt:

Now that I've posted this on a slow Hot Stove Friday, BB will probably trade Zito for Manny Ramirez and there will go my diary.  ;-)

He does have several A's outfits, but they are all sized to fit during the 2006 season.

P.S. Don't forget to continue to Vote for Athletics Nation in the Best Sports Blog Award poll.

Even Blez didn't give AN this chance to influence the naming of his child.  I say "influence" because this is sorta like a non-binding Senate resolution.  But, I respect the opinions of intelligent A's fans.  So, I'd like your input.  As some of you (probably very few, but some) know, I'm going to have my first ever kid sometime in November (around 11/25 to 11/30, from what I hear).

The agreement was that I would have "naming rights" if it were a boy.  And, she would have "naming rights" if it were a girl.  As fate would have it (and, as 3 sonograms have unquestionably confirmed), it's a boy.  (Sidenote:  I'm going to insist on a paternity test after seeing those sonogram pics, but I digress...)

My initial choice for the kid's name was...

GALT ZITO GORDON

But, I've taken a lot of sh*t for that name during the last 7 months.

Now, if you've never read Atlas Shrugged you won't get the "Galt" name, but you will certainly get "Zito."  Strangely enough, she's okay with Galt... it's Zito that she (and, most people) dislike.  But, a substantial minority dislike Galt, as well.  So...

It's been a long time since I've taken a poll of AN.  And, it's not like it's something so insignificant as the 2005 baseball season... it's my kid's name!  He'll have to live with it forever.  Unless, of course, he is tagged with some catchy nickname like "Flash."  Yeah, thanks... really original with the last name Gordon.  ;-)

Anyway, vote early, vote often... since I have the naming rights, AN may tip the balance.  I will give you options I have heard to date (ignoring, of course, the hundreds my sister has come up with), but if you don't like any of them, feel free to vote "None of the Above" and suggest your own.

I ran out of room on the voting options, but if any of you like Plant Stem Gordon, please feel free to write it in.

I told you I wouldn't hesitate to say "I told you so."  And, here it is, in black and white:

Post All-Star Stats

Of all those stats, the most telling... number of AB's.  Bad mistake, taking on that injury risk.  This guy is gonna cost us $7 million per year (for half a season) for the next 3 years.  Ouch!

And, since Byrnes has been back in the AL, playing for the Orioles?

OUCH!  Why didn't Beane trade Kotsay for Kennedy and Witasick?  Could have had Payton playing CF and Byrnes in LF.  Bad, bad mistake.  But, we're winning in spite of Kotsay's bad back.  It's not like we really need him, anyway.

I've never had a bad word for Chavvy... through all his poor starts... through all his "foot-in-mouth" comments, but does this guy get the fact that he's the leader of a team battling for first place in the division?  You tell me (from Urban's Mailbag):

[Urban]
Do I think the A's have closed the talent gap? Yes. Particularly in the bullpen. Honestly, I had no idea Jay Witasick was as good as he's been, and I'm now among the converted regarding Joe Kennedy's value. In fact, I think the A's bullpen is now as good, if not better, than the Angels'. And I now think Oakland's rotation is far superior to the Angels', and that's where you win most of your games.

[And, now, Chavvy...]
It's interesting to note, though, that Eric Chavez disagrees with me. I asked him about the talent gap last week in Minneapolis, and he was quick to respond. "I'll never say we have more talent than them," he said. "They're just so solid. Top to bottom, they've got more talent, hands down. They should win the division, if you ask me."

Okay... humility?  Maybe.  Not wanting to jinx the team?  Maybe.  But, I'm tired of it.  Geez, grow a pair of balls, Eric!  Or, quit campaigning to become a friggin' Angel!  Is Urban smarter than Chavez?  Only marginally, since even Urban still picks the Angels to win the division in spite of overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

The A's taking over 1st Place in the AL West.  And, Byrnes overtaking Kotsay against righties.

I am really friggin' happy!!!  The A's go to the playoffs this year, just as I predicted they would.  And, Byrnes outhits Kotsay against righties this year, just as I predicted he would.

Get your hundred dollar bills ready, guys.  You're gonna be paying up.  Byrnes' OPS vs. righties = .690.  Kotsay OPS vs. righties = .690.  It'll only get better for me from here on out.